


Once the Truth is told, the Lie Fades

by Endraking



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Angst, Fifteen years in the future, Liam is chasing Theo, Liam mind meld, M/M, Post Series, Theo is in a coma
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-19
Updated: 2018-04-19
Packaged: 2019-04-24 22:11:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,788
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14364759
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Endraking/pseuds/Endraking
Summary: Fifteen years have passed since the end of the series.  Liam enters Theo's mind to pull him out of his coma.





	Once the Truth is told, the Lie Fades

**Author's Note:**

> This idea just came to me and I felt the need to write it out. I hope you enjoy and as always, kudos and comments are lovingly adored.

Once the truth is told, the lie fades

 

 

Liam came to be standing in the middle of a hardwood dining room.  The table was the purest white with large floral place settings.  Four equally pure chairs were pushed under the table, two on one side and one at each larger end with a long white bench slid under the far side under several large, elaborately decorated windows. 

He gazed out the windows and saw children running around, smiles on their faces as they chased one another.  Standing next to an almost industrial sized grill, he could pick out the adults.  He saw Scott, carefree, holding a solo cup as he leaned into Malia.  The coyote laughed heartily, her hair pulled back blowing only slightly in the breeze.  Beside her stood Stiles, clearly the spastic man just told the joke because Malia and Scott’s eyes were partially squinted from enjoying the humor, and he scanned his audience to make sure it hit home.  Lydia placed a hand on his arm, a smile on her face, but shaking her head at his attempt at humor.  Liam’s mouth dropped when he noticed that he was the one standing at the grill, checking each of the burgers carefully, flipping some as the flames jumped up and he rocked the “Grillmaster” apron.

As he watched the scene, the wolf heard a set of footsteps from inside as they moved towards him.  Maybe the tranquility of the outing distracted him or the surprise of seeing himself, but he was started when a familiar voice spoke behind him, “I can’t believe you are here already.”

The wolf spun around and gazed into the grey eyes of the chimera he lost contact with all those years ago.  Theo stood in the kitchen, his face and body hadn’t aged a day since he fled the hospital, but his clothes, a pastel colored polo and khaki shorts, looked to be the clothes of a parent.  He asked, “What’s all of this?”

Theo walked around him, his right hand reached out and touched the wolf’s bearded face, fingers gently travelling along his jawline as he stopped and stared out the windows.  He replied, “This, Little Wolf, is my life.”

Liam knew better.  Liam knew he only heard the two heart beats.  Liam knew that when he pressed his claws to the back of the unconscious chimera’s neck he would finally see Theo.  What he hadn’t expected was to see this.  The wolf had been prepared for tortures, to see Tara rotting and crawling and tearing into the chimera, much like the druid seer had shown him.  The wolf expected blood and gore or more to the point, fear and anxiety. 

The wolf repeated, “Your life?”

Theo glanced back and met greys to blues as he gently nodded, “Yes, Liam, my life.  Do you see it out there?  The things I hold dear.”

Liam stated softly but directly, “This is in your mind Theo.”

The chimera nodded slowly, the scene outside freezing just before Scott walked into the kitchen.  He answered, “I’m aware Liam.  But this is my life nonetheless.  It’s nice here, things work here.  I stand a chance here.”

Curiosity laced his voice as the wolf asked, “Stand a chance?  What’s that supposed to mean, Theo?”

The chimera pointed to the children and began, “Do you see the boy with the dirty blonde hair, skinned knees, and mud on his new white sneakers?”  Liam nodded as the chimera continued, “That’s Connor, he’s our son.  Takes after his father if you ask me.  Headstrong and always standing up to the older kids.  Stubborn to a fault.  But I wouldn’t change it for the world.”

The chimera’s hand shifted to the grill and the adults there, “Do you see my family?  Gathered around the grill.  We are celebrating my tenth anniversary to my husband.  He treats me so well, always ready with a loving hug or a needed broken nose.”  The chimera chuckled with his remark, “We’ve had less of the broken noses over the years but occasionally, they make sense.”

Liam looked to his copy and said, “That’s me, Theo.”

Theo shook his head as he commented, “It’s not you, Liam.  He looks like you, smells like you, and acts like you but he isn’t you.”

The color fled from the wolf’s face as he stared into the chimera’s eyes, “I don’t get it Theo.  You are physically fine.  Those injuries you suffered so long ago have long since healed and yet here you are.”

Theo turned to Liam, his expression cold, as he said, “Those injuries?  You mean being hunted down and filled with bullets while I tried to prove myself to the world?  Struggling to maintain consciousness as I was bounced from one war torn facility to the next?  Or do you just mean the final sacrifice that landed me in this unconscious world of a coma?”

Liam took a step back and muttered, “I meant the coma.  All the doctors say you should just be able to wake up.”

Theo casually commented, “Where did I end up?  Certainly not back in Beacon Hills.”

Liam rubbed the back of his head as he nervously replied, “We’re in a hospital in the Philippines.  The only reason I found you is because the doctor that moved you here is a spark using you to generate power.  That’s why they still have you hooked to IVs.”

Theo smirked, “Philippines, hmmm, I never knew I would make it to the islands.  I still don’t get why you are here.  I’m done fighting, Little Wolf.  I’ve made a nice life for myself here.  Do you know how many anniversaries and I love yous I’ve enjoyed?”

Liam slowly shook his head as the chimera continued, “I’ve kept a count.  I should be celebrating my 88th anniversary.  I have shared tens of thousands of I love yous.  And this isn’t because they happen every day.  My years are still 365 days long, still 24 hours and I still have to go to work tomorrow, I still fight with my Liam because damn it if he isn’t stubborn.  It’s a life, real as any, but I am accepted and loved.”

Liam argued, “But that’s why I’m here.”

Theo narrowed his eyes as he read Liam’s face.  After a moment he asked, “Why are you here?  To tell me about the life I’ve missed over the last year?  To tell me that I’m needed there?”

Liam shook his head and muttered, “It’s been fifteen years Theo.  We aren't the teens fighting against Monroe’s hunters anymore.  Most of us are either clinging to our loved ones or realizing the mistakes we made and trying to right them.”

Theo bitterly remarked, “Sounds perfectly miserable.”

Liam inhaled sharply before he continued, “But that’s why I had to find you.  I’m embarrassed that it took me so long to pinpoint where you were, but your caretaker is protective of his prize.”

Theo rolled his eyes, “So now what?”

Liam weakly smiled, a tear coming to his eye, “I want you to come back with me.”

Theo curtly demanded, “Why?”

The wolf fought against his emotions as he answered, “Because I love you.  I haven’t stopped loving you.  I’ve quite literally moved heavens and earth for you.”

Theo raised and eyebrow, “Come back to what though?  Another series of how I have to prove myself, to be accepted by people just to stand a chance with you.”

Liam almost yelled as he argued, “No!  You never had to prove yourself, not to me or anyone else.  When you saved my life and my mind back in Beacon Hills, you already proved it.”

Theo sighed as he responded, “You say that, but it doesn’t stop the rest of your pack.  And don’t give me the you’ll convince them or do without them.  If that were the case, you would’ve followed me the night I took Gabe’s pain.”

Liam pleaded, “Theo, I’m sorry.  Just please, come back.”

Theo turned away from the wolf and stared out the window, “So right now, we are both in that hospital bed, right?”

Liam nodded as quiet tears streaked his face and Theo continued, “And how are things outside?”

The wolf swallowed audibly before he answered, “The pack is splintered, and everyone is struggling to live their lives.  You can’t go through what we did and somehow have a normal life.”

Theo smugly smirked to Liam, “And you want me to go back to THAT?”

Liam nodded, “I want to try and give us the shot we never had.”

The chimera responded, “Once I leave here, everything becomes real.  I know this is just a lie.”

The wolf acknowledged, “We can try to build something there, something real.”

Theo shrugged as he rolled his eyes, “What’s real?  I’ve felt your kiss on my lips.  I’ve felt your passion here.  I’ve held you when times were difficult, and I’ve been supported by you during my trying times.  None of that is any less real.  It may be a lie but it’s a beautiful one.  It’s one where guilt and self-doubt don’t have to control my life.  It’s one where I don’t have to sleep in a truck because the tool doesn’t have any more uses.”

Liam weakly argued, “But Theo.”

Theo’s cruel rant ended with Liam’s argument and a soft smile crossed his face as the house shifted and became the hallway at Beacon Hills.  He reached forward and grabbed the wolf’s hand and began, “Li, what you offer is a painful reality.  Nothing is guaranteed there.  We aren’t.  But I want to give you a counter.”

Liam rubbed the chimera’s hand and felt the warmth, the tender skin, and his heart beat, as he asked, “What’s that?”

Theo smiled, “Join me in the lie.  Let’s start over.  We can live a series of lifetimes here.  You know what you are feeling in your hand is real.  You can smell me.  We never have to grow old and yeah, we’ll eventually die but we will live thousands of lives.”

Liam shook his head, “But it’s not real.”

Theo’s smile shifted into a grin, “Sure, it’s not the truth and once the truth is told, the lie fades, but we can make that beautiful lie.  The only difference between out there and in here is we don’t have to be separated.  We will always be together here.  So, Li, stay with me.”

Liam stepped towards the chimera and kissed him in the halls of Beacon Hills High, on the first day of their senior year.  No monsters, hunters, things that go bump in the night, just two men living their lives and discovering each other, again and again.


End file.
